The babe has been spotted wearing flowy anarkalis and full-sleeved blouses quite often these days. And her style statements have started to remind us of Aishwarya Rai’s fashion choices

No doubt Ayesha Takia has reached a point at which she needs to shed kilos at the speed of light. But she takes us back to the same phase as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was in – and still is in, to a certain extent – when she had to take the generous support of loose ensembles to conceal her cellulite. Ms Takia is currently hosting a reality show calledSur Kshetraon Colors. And as we see her strutting around in long and boring ethnic clothes, we wonder if this has become a trend of sorts – to opt for anarkalis draped with heavily embellished dupattas whenever fatty deposits start to show on those once upon-a-time fab bods.

Now there’s no denying that Ms Takia still looks very sweet neck up, but we aren’t really in awe of the shiny and showy ensembles that she sports on a frequent basis. And not just that, she was also seen making a complete disaster happen by opting for hideous red wedges with a pretty white salwar kameez recently. Now we approved when she stuck to taking inspiration from Ash, but making such ugly eye-bulging statements is an awfully big no no!

While the dearly beloved playback singer enters the 80th year of her life, she readies herself to embrace a new role

Born on September 8, 1933, Asha Bhosle is all set to embrace the 80th year of her life with open arms. The versatile singer, who is currently making headlines as the judge ofSur Kshetra on Sahara One, was recently one of the most loved judges of Indian Idol 6 for her sensible comments.

Ashaji started her career as a playback singer with Chala chala nav bala in the Marathi film Majha Bal (1943) at the tender age of 10 to support her family. But she first tasted success with BR Chopra’s Naya Daur (1957), in which she sang Maang ke saath tumhara, Saathi haath badhana and Uden jab jab zulfein teri.

But by the 1980s Asha taai’s voice was slotted as one of the most versatile, and one that was most suited for cabarets and pop numbers. And it was in 1980 that she married renowned music composer Rahul Dev Burman aka Pancham da.

And guess what! After all these years of being behind the camera and being voice of famous actors, now it’s Asha taai’s turn to step into the limelight. And do you know how? Ashaji is all set to play the role of an old lady, lovingly called Maaee, in the movie of the same name. this one revolves around the core concept of old age homes. And to celebrate taai’s entry into this new phase of her life, the Bollywood music fraternity paid tribute to Asha Bhosle on September 5. Those present at the event included Shaan, Salim Merchant, Suresh Wadkar, Sukhwinder Singh and Shankar Mahadevan, who performed some of Ashaji’s hit numbers.

Talking about her debut movie on the occasion Asha taai said, “It is a very emotional film and it is the story of every middle class elderly woman. The audience will identify with the film and I hope they like my acting.”

We’ll be waiting eagerly for your movie, Asha taai. And apart from wishing you a very happy and fun filled birthday, BollywoodLife also wishes you all the love and luck for your new venture. Cheers!

Raj Thackeray ‘permits’ airing of TV show that features Pakistani singers

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday gave the green signal to telecasting TV show Sur Kshetra featuring Pakistani artistes after the officials and producers of the channels met him here, party officials said. The show goes on air on September 8.

Earlier this week, Thackeray had reiterated the party’s threat to disrupt shooting of Sur Kshetra stating that he does not favour the same. The show will be go on air Saturday on Colors and Sahara channels. The music reality show will have two teams – one is mentored by Indian composer Himesh Reshammiya and the Pakistani team will have Atif Aslam as their guru.

Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors and Boney Kapoor, Director, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Ltd, met Thackeray Thursday and requested him stating that they have already shot many episodes. “We met with Mr Thackeray and told him that we have shot over 15 episodes of the show and that we are really looking forward to air the show as scheduled,” Kapoor told media persons after the meeting.

Thackeray told them that he stands by his views and that it is wrong to entertain Pakistani artistes when Indians are not welcomed in their country. He, however, gave them the green signal to air the show, a party official said. “Both Boney Kapoor and Raj Nayak met Raj Thackeray and requested him not to disrupt the show’s airing or its subsequent shooting. Raj saab, however, said that he will surely give them a go ahead, but they should ask their souls whether or not it is right to entertain Pakistani artistes, while Indians are not welcome in Pakistan,” said Shalini Thackeray, secretary of Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena (MNCKS), the film wing of MNS.

And we wonder about this, since she has been asked to do so by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtrian Navnirman Sena (MNS). Here’s why

We look forward to judge sahiba Asha Bhosle’s comments on every episode of Indian Idol 6, because she’s one woman who can feel the pulse of music perfectly. And looks like Asha tai is now hooked to her role as judge of singing reality shows.

So while the sixth season of Indian Idol is nearing its end, Ashaji is all set to hop on to the next production – Sur Kshetra on Colors. She will be sharing the judge’s panel with Runa Laila from Pakistan. Why? Because this time it’s a battle of surs between Indian and Pakistani singers. Whoa! Now doesn’t that remind you of a show on NDTV Goodtimes called NDTV Foodistan: India Vs Pakistan Food Fight?

While on the one hand Asha Bhosle was happy to be judging yet another reality show, on the other, Raj Thackeray was sitting there with a frown on his face because – no points for guessing this – the show included Pakistani nationals, those people from across the border that he for some reason considers bad ‘uns. Uh-ho! Such truce topics really do not go down well with MNS, right?

So just to voice their protest, the folks from the MNS have requested the makers – TV channels Sahara One and Colors – to refrain from airing the show. They have even sent a letter to Asha tai requesting her to avoid participating in the show.

Do you know how Ashaji responded? “I am a proud Maharashtrian and I really love Raj Thackeray. I also know that he too loves me and listens to my songs at home. However, I am no politician, I am just a singer and a family person. Between my music and family, I don’t have the time for all this. Only humans have the ability to respect other humans.” Well said, tai.

But even as we hope that the matter is resolved quickly so that we can watch Himesh Reshammiya and Atif Aslam’s teams batting it out musically, a nagging doubt lingers – will MNS succeed in preventing Sur Kshetra from going on air on Colors and Sahara One?

The two rival channels have tied up to air the show together

In a surprising move, two competing Hindi general entertainment channels have decided to come together to air the much-delayed music reality show Sur Kshetra. The show brings together singers from India and Pakistan in a musical face-off. The Indians are headed by Himesh Reshammiya and their competitors by Atif Aslam. The plan last year was to air the show on Sahara One, but the shoot – which was to take place in Dubai – had to be postponed indefinitely for various reasons. And then you may have recently heard about the tiff between Atif and Asha Bhosle. That happened during the shoot of the show.

Anyway, Sur Kshetra is back on track now and while it will be aired on Sahara One, it will also be telecast simultaneously on Colors. For the first time, the two rival channels are teaming up for a simulcast of the show. Apparently, the head honchos believe this will be a good way to garner maximum viewership, especially since this is the first music-based reality show for both channels. Isn’t this a great idea? We can’t wait for more channels to enter into such tie-ups. If all TV channels call at least a truce – if not an end -to their battles, it will lead to better programming, wethinks. Which means more fun for us viewers!

Singing legend Asha Bhosle will be one of the judges on Sahara One’s Sur Kshetra, a new reality show that will feature singers from India and Pakistan. A source told IANS that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and Padma Vibhushan winner, who has sung evergreen numbers like Mehbooba mehbooba, Piya tu ab to aaja, Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko and Dum maro dum, will be one among three judges on the show. The other two names will be officially announced soon by the channel. Other names associated with the show include singer-composer Himesh Reshammiya and hit Pakitani singer Atif Aslam, who will captain the Indian team and the Pakistan team respectively. Two other Pakistani legendary singers, Abida Parveen and Runa Laila are also touted to judge the show. The host of the show, expected to be launched in February, is yet to be announced. Sur Kshetra is being produced by Gajendra Singh of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Antakshri fame, founder and managing director, Saaibaba Telefilms.

Television viewing got quite drab in 2011, but it seems as if things will perk up a little bit in the new year. Several channels are coming up with new shows this month, even as Bigg Boss 5 and MasterChef India 2 bring their seasons to a close. We give you a preview of all that is hot and all that is not…

Your small screens are all set for big action in the coming months. Actors turn anchors, while a certain actor-turned-anchor will return to acting this month. A couple of newbies are making their debuts at the same time as evergreen films are finding new life. There’s lots happening in the wild wide world of Hindi television – be it reality shows or fiction that you are interested in.